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Saudi Aramco sells first jet fuel cargo from new refinery

Shipment likely to head to Europe from new joint-venture refinery in Jubail, say sources

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By Reuters

Thu 07 Nov 2013 04:32 PM

Saudi Aramco has sold its first jet fuel cargo from a new joint-venture refinery in Jubail, with the shipment likely to head to Europe, industry sources said on Thursday.

The 40,000-tonne cargo, which will likely be loading in mid-November, was sold to an oil major and could be the company's only sale of jet fuel from the refinery this year, one of the sources close to the matter said.

Details on buyer and price were not immediately clear.

It is also unclear whether France's Total has sold its share of jet fuel volumes for November as both companies were initially given a cargo each to load from the refinery, traders said.

The 400,000-barrels-per-day plant - a joint venture by Total and Aramco - is expected to reach full capacity by the year-end and will help feed rising domestic demand, cutting the country's dependence on fuel imports.

The refinery has so far loaded two diesel cargoes, at least one fuel oil cargo and a naphtha cargo, traders have said.

Once production is ramped up, the refinery aims to maximise diesel and gasoline output to meet the rise in domestic demand of these fuels.